Housing deliver a Christmas present

Saturday 27th December 2008, 10:00AM GMT.

HUNDREDS of Islanders will have a better chance of owning their own homes thanks to a change of Housing policy.

In a show of seasonal goodwill, prospective purchasers previously disqualified from the Jersey Homebuy shared equity scheme have been told that Housing Minister Terry Le Main has changed the qualifying criteria.

It means that Islanders who have owned a share transfer or flying freehold home will now be eligible to buy a Jersey Homebuy shared equity house, effectively at a 35 per cent discount.

This is a second victory for Islanders after the JEP’s investigation into Jersey Homebuy highlighted flaws in the plan. In October the JEP discovered that hundreds of people had been deterred from applying for the scheme after the Housing department revealed that out of 446 people who expressed an interest, only 26 people appeared to meet the criteria.

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